Protical 7-18-Charlie-Alpha-Juliet
by Nev Longbottom
Summary: Robin gets himself De-Aged with Young Justice. Family protocol is to keep him with another Batfamily member until he has progressed to his normal age. They've had a protocol since Nightwing was turned into a baby and Batgirl had to take care of her and baby Helena while they teethed. Oh, Earth-16.


((A/N: This came from the following prompt.

Prompt:I've seen a couple of prompts with Robin being de-aged and the team reacting to and taking care of him.

So I was thinking why not combine two of my favorite things. Bat family and de-aged!Robin, because seriously, de-aged!Dick is adorable.

The Bat siblings are completely ecstatic to find out that Dick has been de-aged to this cute and adorable baby/child.

I would love to see lots of hugs, smooches, hair ruffles, anything of that sort. I just want pure doting lovings!

I'd prefer if the Bat sibs are older than Dick's normal age (though Damian can be younger), but as long as when Dick becomes de-aged, he is now the youngest.))

"Father! Grayson is behaving in a completely unreasonable manner. I demand you remove Drake from the premises immediately until Grayson has returned to a sensible state. His influence is the only possible cause of this behavior." Damian lifted Dick by the scruff of his onesie, an impressive task since Damian was barely twice Dick's height. Even for member of the Bat family, Damian was usually small at eight.

Dick had the tail of Damian's tiger plushie in his mouth and was drooling away happily, making little pleased gurgles around the tail. His siblings started snickering. Stephanie reached for Dick making grabby hands but Damian pulled him out of her reach. When some of Dick's drool dripped on to Damian's hand, Jason choked on his orange juice. He sputtered the liquid all down the front of his Red Hood suit.

Bruce covered his amused smile with a cough. Jason was trying to rub the juice out with a napkin, despite the fact his crime fighting clothes were covered in grime and blood. He wondered if Alfred had ever silently laughed at Bruce in his early crime fighting days. Probably. "Damian," he said, "Babies drool. It's a behavioral trait in infant mammals. Have you tried giving him a pacifier instead?"

Damian scowled. "He started screaming and crying as if he were Steven-"

"Stephanie! Stephanie! You know I'm transitioning you little twerp," Stephanie snapped, pulling out one of her Batgirl batarangs from her vest. Every since she turned fourteen, she had been acting high strung and was impossible to separate from her batarangs. Before Bruce could rebuke her, Cassandra, the oldest of his children, neatly picked it out of her hand as she came in.

Alfred stepped into the sun room right behind Cassandra, carrying a platter of waffles. He raised an eyebrow at the sight and pushed the tray in Stephanie's hands before scooping Dick out of Damian's. "Perhaps Master Damian, you could consider being a role model for your...older brother if you dislike his current influences."

The eight year old crossed his arms for a moment, glaring at his ten year old brother Timothy who was watching the entire mess with a carefully blank expression. Bruce quickly opened his newspaper so Damian couldn't see him smile. Damian would consider it the most gravest of offenses.

Jason reached for the waffles with his fingers, a smirk on his lips. "You should think about it," Jason said. "What if the spell wears off and Dick starts to think I'm the coolest brother? Or Tim?"

Tim used the distraction to steal a waffle off of Jason's plate. Bruce approved of his clever use of tactics. He should remember to find more tactical exercises for Tim to supplement his tutoring. Tim was often so quiet compared to his siblings that he had a tendency to try and phase himself in the background so he could get away with breaking the rules. Bruce had just caught him this morning trying to hack into the Watchtower for the fifth time this week.

Stephanie leaned forward in her seat, flipping her butter knife between her fingers. "You know, he's going to be babysat by some green lanterns with the other de-aged YJ kids. All that exposure might make him subconsciously want to be a Green Lantern. Next thing you know, he's leaving half way across the galaxy to wear tacky boots and be defeated by yellow. You heard me. The color, not the hair metal band."

Damian made an alarming expression and he quickly yanked Dick out of Alfred's arms. He held Dick close to his chest, so that the worn out tiger dangled in front of him and he raced out of the sun room. It was a common enough occurrence, so Bruce didn't give it much thought other than to yell, "You can't take him to play with Colin. He has to stay in the house."

Cassandra poured juice out for everyone as Alfred came back with the rest of breakfast. It was still a noisy affair, with four teenage crime fighters trying to eat as much as possible before their patrols, or in Cassandra's case, college and then patrol.

Jason shoved an entire waffle in his mouth at once and stood up from the table. "Mfroufh mrphg flm fee fires ff rou. Mmr nugh shr dpers," he said with his mouth full before he left through the other doorway.

Everyone looked to Cassandra for a translation. "He said he was going to leave before Damian figures it out. He doesn't want to change any diapers." She tilted her head to the side and then added, "Neither does Nightwing." Cass threw a smoke bomb in front of her chair and was gone before the smoke cleared. For that matter, so was Tim.

Bruce placed the newspaper carefully. "Brucie has a board meeting in twenty minutes and then a full day of business meetings. I'm going to be busy tracking Penguin's arms deal after that. Activate Protical Seven Eight-"

"Seven Eighteen Charlie Alpha Juliet," Steph said, sulking from her seat. "Last one at the table after a de-aging gets stuck with diaper duty." She glared at Bruce. "I always get stuck with diaper duty."

Bruce stared right back. "If it bothers you so much, you could use extra practice. Two hours of escape drills after Alfred relieves you." Bruce tried to remind himself that Steph only had four years of puberty to go and she would probably sulk for only half of it. Possibly. .

Hopefully.

"I'll go call the Titans," she said. "But if anyone asks, I'm diffusing a hostage situation." She took her batarang back off the table when she left, her way of protesting.

Bruce made a reminder to himself to pull up the internal camera footage from breakfast for photographs. This month's family photo album was only half full.

Damian placed his Grayson in the communal high chair. He worried about Grayson's dexterity and mobility but the most pressing matter had to be his manners. He looked around the nursery for the bag of pacifiers while Grayson gurgled around Tiger.

It was irritating. Mother had sent him him a package when she left him with Father. Dates, assassin grade poisons, an assortment of throwing weapons, and Damian's childhood a stuffed tiger whom Damian had purposefully left behind. If he was to be Father's heir, then he had to behave as a mature heir. Tiger did not fit into that plan. Tiger had never fit in to that plan, but every time Damian tried to leave the infernal stuffed animal behind, he always found it in Mother's suitcase. However, Damian wasn't with Mother anymore. He was with Father, in mansion overflowing with heirs. Damian still didn't understand why Father had to adopt Drake after Damian came to live at the Manor.

Grayson lifted one hand to reach in Damian's direction. "Bao," Grayson said somberly. "Bao." His saliva had left the small stuffed item completely damp. If Grayson must requisition Damian's comfort item, then he had to be instructed in his comportment.

Clearly this behavior of salivating like a dumb beast was Drake's influence. "Grayson." Damian began.

"Awu?" Grayson replied, reaching his hand towards Damian. He put his mouth back on Tiger's tail the minute he finished his communication. At least Grayson showed consistency.

Damian held up the bag of pacifiers. "These items are for sucking. You will be assigned a prosthetic nip- nipple," he ignored the burning in his cheeks. Appropriate terminology was never anything to be ashamed about. Mother had been very clear. "...and commence use like so." Damian pulled one of the pacifiers out of the bag and placed it in his mouth to demonstrate before spitting it out.

He pulled one from the bag and placed it in Grayson's hand. He waited until Grayson's small fingers had grasped the item before he released. Grayson waved the bright green pacifier in the air and then released his other hold on Tiger. With his small hands, Grayson examined it closely, dark eyes looking at the pacifier in confusion.

Damian waited until Grayson seemed completely taken with it before pulling Tiger's tail out of his brother's mouth.

Grayson's face scrunched in displeasure and he began to wail. Damian pulled another pacifier out of the bag and tried to force it into Grayson's mouth, but his older brother continued to wail. Damian took one look at his old, one-eyed comfort item and knew what he must do. He picked the plush off the ground and held the tail out for Grayson to put in his mouth. Damian then left the nursery and hit Brown's door.

He found Stephen less irritating that Drake, but highly confusing. In almost every case, completely incomprehensible. He could understand a change of pronouns but a change of civilian names seemed pointless. The only name that mattered was the name that struck fear in the hearts of villains everywhere. Colin thought she was pretty which was simply unacceptable.

Unacceptable.

"What?" She yelled through the door. Peasant behavior - choosing to raise one's voice rather than open a door. Colin's mind must be addled from the venom.

"I'm disowning Grayson until he is returned to an appropriate age. Notify me when such a thing has occurred," He yelled back before walking back down the hallway. He might as well get in some training time in. No need to make the entire morning a waste.

By the time Steph gets off diaper duty (second shift in a row, damnit!), Dick already looks about three. She has to hold him with both arms on her hip to balance his squirmy midget ass but she eventually makes it down with him to the kitchen. Shees wearing her least favorite gym sweats. Years of de-aging duty has taught her to start the day with three layers of shirts because of puke and other associated fluids.

Alfred was fiddling at one of the ovens when she entered. "Look at how big he's gotten! Dickie's never gotten shrinkified before. Who'd have guessed he would have turned out to be such a big baby boy.' Dick babbled away him his baby language and Steph sat him down in the kitchen high seat.

When Bruce had become her legal guardian (criminal father, alcoholic mother - her case worker couldn't get adoption paperwork, with both her parents alive), Steph hadn't been much older than Tim. Steph hid in her room or the Batcave while she studied martial arts and criminal investigation. Between that and Cass spending her time patrolling or in speech therapy, Steph barely saw her 'older sister.' She hadn't even really known the color of Cass' eyes until Batman had come up from the Batcave holding a baby.

It was during that time that Steph had gotten to know her small adopted family. Alfred's history with British Law Enforcement, Cassandra's background as an kid raised by assassins, Bruce's weird relationship with Selina Kyle, and the second sibling she didn't even know she had: Helena Wayne who wasn't even old enough to start counting in months. It was the reason the house had been stuffed with baby items, and thank god for that because it became an almost traditional thing for one of the crime fighters to get aged every few months or so.

Batman was a fat baby. Who knew?

"Alright, Dickie. Do you want some apple today? Vroom! Vroom!" Steph said, grinning.

Dick clapped his hands together and grinned right back. "Masare!" he shrieked. "Woom! Woom!"

Steph pulled open the fridge. "I am gonna take that for a yes," she reached for the apple jar on the baby shelf only for a hand to reach in past her for a small green jar.

Alfred gave her a small smile. "Mistress Stephanie, I am afraid that you have mistaken Master Dick's romanian for baby nonsense. Mazare means peas."

Steph blinked and turned her head to give Dick a fond look. "Well I'll be damned. Dick is a really cool baby. Who's a smart baby!" She tickled his tummy while Alfred did his British thing. He brought her a spoon and a bib just as Jason came in through the side door.

"Sorry I'm late for lunch. Turns out Cass had a babysitting shift for Superboy and M'gann so I got to do my first solo patrol," Jason puffed up his chest and grabbed an apple. "Guess we know which one of us is the better crime fighter. You lived here for like, two years before I showed up and I still got to go solo first." He took a bite and ruffled Dick's hair. "You are a loser and I am a winner," he taunted.

Steph put her hands on her hips. "Oh whatever, it's broad day light and everyone's in Arkham. This doesn't even count." She adjusted Dick's bib and fiddled with the seal on the jar. She didn't want him to see her sulking. If she had been the one flying solo, it would count because she's awesome and Gotham loves her. When she found Batgirl T-Shirts for sale, she bought one and wore it every night to dinner until Jason dropped it in bleach.

"It totally counts. See," he said. When Steph glanced up at him, he was leaning forward with his mouth wide open, showing off his half chewed food.

Okay, that was it. "Yeah, well, the Teen Titans wanted me to go help them with a kidnapping case and I was supposed to fly out as soon as I possible." She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped Bruce would take her bail out as a sign her escape techniques were improving. She put the jar of peas in Jason's free hand. "Oh, and don't forget to burp him. Dick cries when when he's gassy and you know how bitchy that makes Damian."

She left before he could call her bluff. The only thing kidnapping case the Titans were investigating, was how delicious Sue Dibny's cookies were. So far, all her text messages indicated very.

It wasn't that Jason was afraid of babies. He just thought they were BORING. Really boring That's why he felt shameless about putting a couple drops of Nyquil in Dick's lunch. That way Jason could get some of his stupid calc homework done by for Monday and Dick could keep nap on Jason's bed. Win Win.

Jason only made it half way through when Dick woke up confused. "Hey kiddo," Jason said in a soft voice. "How old are you? Age? Old? Years?"

Dick sat up and held up four fingers. "Patru!" he said. "I'm Fo-wer."

"Good for you, little dude. I'm your Jason, do you remember me?" It depended on the spell, but sometimes they had vague recollections of who they were. Other times it was more like they were that age exactly and they could access any other memories.

Jason didn't mind it, he was a pretty cool kid but he hated it when it had happened to Cass. She had been so cold and vicious. She nearly killed Alfred before he shot her out with a tranq gun. Jason wasn't a mushy emotional dude, but it broke his heart to see her like that.

Dick's tiny face scrunched up in concentration and then he looked confused. "Jay?" he said tentatively and when Jason nodded, he bounced up on the bed. "Jay!" He shrieked before he screamed with delight.

Ugh. Right. Dick was a screamer. Jason plucked him off the bed from under the armpits. "Come on little dude. We are going to the playground and to get you into some bigger clothes and possibly cut you out of these." The t-shirt that had been loose before the nap now looked like it was going to cut off his circulation.

"Jesus, Dick. When it come to growing up you don't mess around," Jason carried Dick into the nursery and put his comlink on speaker phone while he found Dick a much looser set of clothes.

"Hey Selina? It's Jason...Yeah, Bruce is fine. Dick got de-aged...He's changing back really fast, actually which is why I wanted to call you. You know how much Helena loves to play big sister, I figured if we were going to the playground anyway, i could grab her from Day Care if its okay with you... Awesome. Thanks Selina!"

Jason managed to get Dick to stop swinging from the lighting fixture long enough to throw some baggy clothes on him and leave a note knifed on the door. He didn't have any tape so he just stabbed a throwing knife into it.

"One day, tiny padawan, you too can make our Dad look like he's going to shit a brick. Only then will you gain the respect of Roy Harper." Jason said, making faces at Dick so the smaller boy would giggle.

"Shit!" Dick repeated joyfully.

Jason pressed a hand to his forehead. "If anyone asks, you totally learned that from Tim."

Helena upended her bucket of sand over Dick's head.

"Helena," Jason said slowly. "You know your Mommy doesn't like it when you do that to people smaller than you."

She blinked. "But Damian does it all the time." It was 'cause Helena made Damian mad and Damian wasn't allowed to hit her even if she hit him first. Even when it gets sand in her mouth, Helena thought punching Damian was the best thing ever. He got really mad and he then he'd make funny noises and make funnier faces.

Jason snickered from the park bench. "You've got a point."

Tim was Helena's favorite big brother and Jason was her favorite little brother. Tim liked to help her with her homework and Jason was the best for hide and go seek when he got turned little.

Sometimes Helena's sisters and brothers get turned little and she can be the best big sister ever, like showing them how to play in a sand box, and how to pump legs on a swing to go really high, and how to play double dutch hopscotch.

She doesn't like it when Cass is her little sister. One time when Helena had the class hamster for the weekend, Cass forgot the squeezing rule. Now her class has a fish and Helena isn't allowed to take it home.

"Hey Dick," she said urgently, pulling on his arm. "Don't squeeze the hamster."

He tried to brush the sand out of his hair. "Wha's a hamser?"

She made a face. Gosh, he was so stupid. Helena stood up and pulled him up too. "It's swing time. Swings!"

When she pulled him around the swirley slide to the swings, he shrieked and jumped on the grown up swing. He pulled his legs around the flat swing and his arms.

Helena frowned. "That's not how you swing!"

"Push! Push!" Dick yelled.

Helena puffed. That was not how you swing but Helena was the best big sister ever and if she wanted to get her own little brother or sister, she had to show Mommy that she would be a really good big sister. The bestest even.

Dick made happy screams when she pushed him really hard so she did it til her arms got tired. Then she sat and watched him. He was so stupid but it was still fun to play Big Sister.

Cassandra alternated between taking off early on Tuesday, Thursday, and Wednesday. She had seen what exhaustion does to Bruce and she would rather not succumb to it herself. Gotham didn't sleep but Nightwing needed rest. She pulled in her cycle around two in the morning and changes to some civilian pajamas.

She was half way up the library staircase when she heard sniffling from above. When she leaves through the hidden entrance, Dick looks up from where he's curled in Bruce's wing-back chair. He's at least two to three years older than when she last saw him this morning.

"I can't remember what they look like," he whispers. "I can remember you an Bruce an Damian and my trailer and Bono-the-elephant but I can't remember Tati or Mami."

Cass has been disoriented by age more times than she can count but she has not felt such a loss. She crossed the space between them until she was close enough that he could wrap his arms around her neck and cling. She put her arms around him as well.

"This could be related to the magic," she said slowly. "It is possible that when it has warn off, you will be able to remember your parents more clearly."

She did not know how to offer comfort. It had taken years with Bruce before he taught her how to smile or laugh. It had taken Steph to draw them out of their crime fighting obsessions and teach Cass how to play. Bruce had given her much comfort by telling her truth when she had been woken from nightmares. The least she could do was return the favor to Dick, especially when he was young and vulnerable, and not simply posing as cool in an effort to mimic Jason.

"You mean it?" Dick asked softly. He peered at her with his dark blue eyes and she felt at a loss for how to assure him further. "It is a distinct possibility," she said.

He bit his lip for a moment before he asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Cass found herself nodding before he finished asking. She shifted her grip on him and he took the opportunity to rest his head on her shoulder. Cass carried him down the hall way to Bruce's room and tucked Dick into the empty bed. If she left him to work on the Scarecrow mystery, he would wake up feeling safe. She slept in Bruce's bed for a year when she first moved in. The thought of being alone had terrified her. She could not imagine a safer place to sleep.

She was also grateful they were not in an adjoining room to Jason. He would be very irritating if her learned that this was the only lullaby she was familiar with. "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur," She pulled the cover's up to Dick's chin. "Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr." She lay down on the bed next to him and ran her fingers over his hair.

Dick's breathing and heart rate slowed. She would stay until he was deeply sleep. At least, that is what she told herself.

Tim waited until Dick was old enough to talk to see how he was feeling. Tim has always been nervous of Dick. Everyone in Gotham loved Robin. Tim may have started stalking Nightwing when she first saved him from being kidnapped by Two-Face, but as soon as he figured out their patrol patterns, he followed Robin everywhere.

When Batman came back from his YJ visit with a baby, Tim hadn't even understood what happened. Everyone else, even Damian the leech, acted like it was the most normal thing ever but how could someone as totally cool as Robin get accidentally turned into a baby?

"H-hi" Tim said, stumbling over the word. "I'm Tim."

Dick looked up at him, "Yeah, I know." It was weird seeing Dick look so small. Puny, even. Heck, it was weird having someone have to look UP to Tim. Damian was viciously smug about being half an inch taller. Even when they stuck all of the JLA kids together during big scary events, Kara-El (only four years younger)had half a foot on Tim. Conner Hawke swore Tim was growing in reverse.

Dick smiled right as he launched into a series of slow, lazy cartwheels around Tim. "I can kind of remember everyone's names and all the stuff that happened when I was ten, and the names of other people I've met after that but I'm not totally caught up on everything. I've never been scious before."

"Scious?" Tim asked.

Dick stopped himself at a handstand. "You know, conscious. The collective awareness of thought. Con means together so if you take the togetherness out of conscious, you're scious."

Tim relaxed. If Dick could be teeny tiny and still talk without prefixes, then everything must be alright. "Actually," Tim said with a little smile, "I'm feeling the aster."

Dick's fell over and then sprung back up looking over joyed. "Aster like as in the opposite of a disaster- Wow, Tim. You are the coolest person ever! I'm going to go tell everyone about aster." He ran out of the room, yelling for anyone to come quick.

For the first time since the whole mess started, Tim felt like he could handle being older than Dick. He made it easy to be an older brother.

Of course he couldn't forget that he was a younger brother either, so when he heard Jason yell, "YOU TOLD HIM ABOUT THE ASTER?" in the distance, Tim knew to hide.

To show that he was officially himself again, Dick put his Ray-Bans back on when he made it to dinner. Cassandra slipped him the biggest steak while no one was looking. It was awesome.

"Grayson. I am pleased to see you have re-cooperated with no ill effects from Drake's influence," Damian mentioned casually while Steph and Jason arm wrestled for the last of the lemon spinach. Dick heard muffled sound of Tim kicking Damian under the table.

Dick ruffled his baby brother's hair. "I missed you too, Damian."


End file.
